CHESNEE – Ruth Scruggs Hatchette McBrayer, 98, 1615 Hwy. 11 East, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, at Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home.
A native of Cherokee County, she was the daughter of the late Robert Beramond and Nora Etta Harris Scrug- gs. She was first married to the late Vernon Eugene Hatchette Jr. and then to the late Charles David McBrayer. She was an alumnus of Chesnee High School and Winthrop College. Until her retirement, she was owner and operator of Fruitful Farms and Chesnee Land Co.
Mrs. McBrayer taught school in the Cliffside School System and was a member of First Baptist Church of Chesnee, where she served on the building committee for the present church building. She organized Daniel Morgan Rural Community Water System and was past director and chairman. She received the 2008 Pioneer Award from the S.C. Rural Water Association. She helped organize the Cherokee National Golf Club and served as its first treasurer. She was the last remaining member of her immediate family. A niece, the late Peggy Harris Marshall, and a great-nephew, the late Joseph Robert Brannon, made their home with their aunt.
She is survived by two nephews, Robert Gettys Scruggs of Gaffney and Dr. Douglas Scruggs Jr. of Aiken; three nieces, Brenda Scruggs Hyde of Atlanta, Ga., Carolyn Harris Riddick of Columbia and Elizabeth Scruggs Hollifield of Gaffney.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Robert Dewey Scruggs, James Gettys Scruggs and Miles Douglas Scruggs Sr.; three sisters, Ezia Scruggs Blanton, Ozelia Scruggs Hames and Mabel S. Harris; a nephew, Solon Douglas Scruggs; and three nieces, Madge Blanton Brannon, Sybil Scruggs McBrayer and Margaretta Scruggs Abernathy.
Special thanks to her caregivers, Helen Scruggs and Loretta Cooper.
Services were held Sunday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Chesnee with the Revs. Gary Grogan and Don Stanley officiating. Interment was in State Line Baptist Church Cemetery.
Visitation was held Saturday, Feb. 27, from 6-8 p.m. at Blakely Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in remembrance of Mrs. McBrayer to State Line Baptist Church, 1328 State Line Road, Gaffney, SC 29341; or Chesnee First Baptist Church, 211 S. Kentucky Ave., Chesnee, SC 29323.
